The Minister’s Black Veil - Conflict, Climax and...

â€Å"The Minister’s Black Veil† - Conflict, Climax and Resolution Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"The Minister’s Black Veil† will be examined in order to determine the conflicts in the tale, the climax and resolution. The conflict involving evil and sin, pride and humility is the direction that Clarice Swisher in â€Å"Nathaniel Hawthorne: a Biography† tends: â€Å"Hawthorne himself was preoccupied with the problems of evil, the nature of sin, the conflict between pride and humility† (13). In the opinion of this reader, the central conflicts – the relation between the protagonist and antagonist (Abrams 225) - in the tale are an internal one, a spiritual-moral conflict within the minister, the Reverend Mr. Hooper, and an†¦show more content†¦Gloria C. Erlich in â€Å"The Divided Artist and His Uncles† says that â€Å"he let his more extravagant characters test the unlimited for him and sadly concluded that it was unlivable† (38). At the outset of the tale, â€Å"The Minister’s Black Veil,† the sexton is tolling the church bell and simultaneously watching Mr. Hooper’s door, when suddenly he says, ``But what has good Parson Hooper got upon his face? The surprise which the sexton displayed is repeated in the astonishment of the onlookers: â€Å"With one accord they started, expressing more wonder. . .† The reason is this: â€Å"Swathed about his forehead, and hanging down over his face, so low as to be shaken by his breath† is a black veil. The 30 year old, unmarried parson receives a variety of reactions from his congregation: ``I cant really feel as if good Mr. Hoopers face was behind that piece of crape ``He has changed himself into something awful, only by hiding his face ``Our parson has gone mad! Few could refrain from twisting their heads towards the door. . . . . . . more than one woman of delicate nerves was forced to leave the meeting-house. At this point begins the external conflict of the drama – between the minister and the people of his congregation, which will last until his death. Except for the sable veil, Reverend Hooper is quite a compatible and sociable personality: Mr. Hooper had theShow MoreRelated The Theme of Hawthorne’s The Ministers Black Veil Essay2353 Words   |  10 Pagesâ€Å"The Minister’s Black Veil† – The Theme  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s tale, â€Å"The Minister’s Black Veil,† the dominanat theme is obviously one man’s alienation from society. This essay intends to explore, exemplify and develop this topic.    Hyatt Waggoner in â€Å"Nathaniel Hawthorne† states:    Alienation is perhaps the theme he handles with greatest power. â€Å"Insulation,† he sometimes called it – which suggests not only isolation but imperviousness. It is the opposite ofRead More The Theme in The Minister’s Black Veil Essay2601 Words   |  11 PagesThe Theme in â€Å"The Minister’s Black Veil†Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   Morse Peckham in â€Å"The Development of Hawthorne’s Romanticism† explains what he interprets Hawthorne’s main theme to be in his short stories:    This technique, though Hawthorne’s is different from that of European writers, creates analogies between self and not-self, between personality and the worlds. . . .Henceforth Hawthorne’s theme is the redemption of the self through the acceptance and exploitation of what society terms